THE COLLIERY DISASTER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1520, 30 March 1887, Page 2

THE COLLIERY DISASTER

FULL PARTICULARS.

A TXRUIBLE STORY.

Auckland, Maroh 29. The following items have been extracted from papers per the Mararoa, from Sydney : —

At half-past two o'olook on the afternoon of March 22nd a terrific explosion took plaoe m the tunnel m the Bulll Company's mine when a large number of men were m the workings. The tunnel is a long one, penetrating the hiil a long distance and most of the men inside were

working at the inmost extremity, known as Hillend. Here it is that the explosion Is supposed to have occurred. *

The first intimation of the disaster to

those outside was a rash from the mouth of the tunnel of a blast of gaseous air, whloh throw a boy named Herbert Oope, who hid been driving horses jast Imlde the mine*, a distance of about a hundred yards. 0 »pc was picked up insensible, but was found to have no boDes broken, an 1 afterward* reoovered consciousness. "V Frenohman working outside was.pre cipitatnd down an embankment, but escaped serious iojury. a. pile of timbtir props ontside the tunnel's mouth wu blo.vn a considerable distance. These foots are evidence of the tremendous f oroe of the explosion. As soon as the men working out«id« teal'sed >he appalling fact that about eighty of their mates were m the mine m relief party was formed. It oonslsted of four men, named Lang, Chalmers, Scott and Hope. These brave fellows faced the., dark dangers of the terrible tunnel with" out; a moment's hesitation, while thost outside waited m breathless suspense for their return. Shortly after the relief party bad disappeared m the mnrty darkness the shook of two small explosion! evidently right, m the interior of the mint was felt, and adding to the agonising anxiety of thus^ gathered round the en* trance. Aftar a period of suspense, wellnigh unendurable, Lanpr, one of the relief psr'y, returned to the mouth of th« tunnel He was completely exhausted, and could hardly crawl out- He said that his companions were ia danger. Other ' rescue parties were formed, and they entered the tunnel. Chalmers, Boott, and H^pe were brought out alive. The relief parties were muoh hampered for want of safety lamps; five of these indispensable articles were, however, found, and the work of exploration was vigorously and bravely carried oa. It wob discovered that the tunnel was com* pletely blocked some distance from the mouth, and from the appearance of the obstruction it was evident that tons of solid earth separated the inner workings from the would-be rescuers. It was then at once seen that there was hardly the faintest ground for hope that "the poor fellows who had been working within had escaped destruction. Nevertheless, although the work was one of despair and terrible difficulty, the rescuers continued their efforts with desperate determination. By six o'clock the dead bodieß of Felix Bourne, Wm. Bourne, senr.,~ Wm. Bourne, junr., Melville, two men named MoKay, their mate named Wade, and George Ralph had been brought out. The i remains were shattered and oharred m a

horrible manner.

Menmvhile the terrible news had spread far and wide, and n largo crowd had gathered round the mouth of the tunnel, where there was a scene of the most heart-rendiog description. The wives, mothers, and children of the imprisoned miners were gathered together, and their laments were loud and piercing. They knew that there was hardly a hope that anyone of those poor fellows would bo brought out alive, yet their prayers for rescue of husband, or son, or brother, or fathor wore not the lees affecting than their cries of despair. The scene at the mine on the morning following the diaantor was heartrending and painful m the extreme. Woman and ohildren were rushing to and fro calling the names of the loved ones whom they might never hope to see again One woman, In the extreme agony of her grief, weufc hopeleanly mad, requiring restraint. She had lost two of her sons In the mm«.

Ab the bodies were brought out the scene was absolutely indescribable. The remains of the victims were In some cases burned to a olnder, their heads were smashed m, their arms and legs were broken, and fearful gashes appeared on tbeir bodice. Their clothes m many OMee were burned to ashen, their hair tinged from their heads, and their faoea and £Ueh roasted and shrivelled on their crooked and stiffened limbs. Identification was almost impossible, though It was attempted by examining the oiothei of those brought to the mouth of the mine, Five bodies were known to be lying about a mile and a half from the pit's mouth, behind what is known us "Big Fi.lL" The whole of <he StU End part of the tunnel m damaged, and for a considerable part of the distance the line is blccked, In some places being covered by fifteen to sixteen ft et of fcllen earth. The bodies aa they were recovered were borne to tba tunnel's mouth on stretohert, and were taken to the blacksmith's shop through a crowd of women who were eagerly waiting for some news of their own loved ones buried under the ruins rf the mine, or who were lying dead m (he workings. There waa absolutely no hope of one person, mnn or boy, being taken cut alive, but the poor creatures at the mouth remained hoping auainat hope, and praying fervently that the bitter sorrow of their neighbors might not come upon. them. They could not, or would not, believe that the husband who went to bis work yesterday morning In all the pride of strong manhood was dead. One distracted wife (widow now) shrieked as she beat her breast, aad tore her hair out by handfuls, "he Is not, he cannot be dead." They could not realise the terrible faot ; they refused to believe it, and turned savngelj on those who approached them with a view of offering consolation. They would not acknowledge even to themselves that they had given up hope. There Is no clue to the causes of the oataßtrophe, and though an enquiry will be held m due course it ia believed that nothing will be elicited as to its origin. It is presumed that perhaps one of the lately employed "blackleg" miners engaged near the . old working! had broken through and either carrying a naked light or through Hgkting a match had caused the explosion. On the Hillend workings the force of the concussion blew out the stoppings along the straight run, and foul air and blaok damp were forced into the western drive, where about eight iren were working' at the time of the explosion. The majority of the old hands were married men with families. Of the Bournes, the father and two sons lie dead side by side m the receiving bouse. There are three Walkers and three Harris' among the minera. Mrs McKay has lost her husband and ttro sons, and is left with bix other comparatively young children to battle with the world alone, Thefi'stto be recovered were Otway Bowen and Felix Bo wen; they were killed where they had been wi rkinpr. The former had his head out open, the latter his leg and arm broken and hia head out, their clothing was burnt oft', and their eyes cut out. George htaphens was terribly mutilated. The others were lees terribly knocked about. 411 the bodies were black as coal, covered irith oindero, the ilosh roasted, the toe* juried and shrivelled up, and the limbs niffoned and crooked, the eyes m some :antß b9ing burned olean out. The sight n&* horrible. . , ' The special reporter of the " Evening Sews" b&vb ,-~ v This morning, lipgn.

arriving at four o'okok, I at onoe prooeeded to the mine, and want along the tunnel ai far as I could go with Bafety. Id many places I had to olimb for yards over fallen blocks of atone tons m weight. I had proceeded nearly a milo and a quarter when I deemed it advisable to return. Consequent on the effect of the fool air, no attempt has so f»r been made to explore the western drive. It la alleged that this is impossible at present, owing to the presence of (oul air The opening ii temporarily stopped with eanvai to keep the fi e damp baok. The direct course of the supply of fresh air Is •long the straight run ir. the main wrkingt. The very greatest oare is required In passing through towards tne place where the men lie burled. A touoh of a careless hand, or a jar to a prop on a cab piece, and thousands of tons of crumbling •arth and rock may bo preoip-tated to the level of the floor. It is a journey fraught with intense daDger, aad the brave men who are risking their lives to reoover the bodies of their oomradeß display a true spirit of heroism. The teport of the explosion was heard at Worth Bnlll, three miles away, but few exoopt old miners and women who had heard that awfnl sound before recognised the note of death. The terrible nnws spread like wildfire, and by 4 pm. people from far and near gathered at the month of the pit. The town of Bulli today, bears a funeral aspect ; men are" wandering listlessly and aimltssly about, waiting for news which cannot, unless by the interposition of a mlrec^e, be good news ; women aro rushing frantically about, praying, weeping, appealing to God to pity them and to men to aid them What oan be done is being done, but the work of the reo «v«ry of the bodies will extend over some days. Business is all but entirely suspended. Mr A. Tamer, Polioe Magistrate, Woolongong, wired the Minister of Mines at eight o'olook the next m rniag : — "... . It Is only rHr.tnily th*t a long strike at the Billi Colliery was terminated and the mine resumed fu'l work. The fall number of employes is about 300 men."

Bulli is sixty miles south from Sydney. and is a mining township situated between the Illawarra mountains and the cotet. The Ball! Company's mine penetrates the hill at a distance of about two miles from the sea The workingß are rery extenßlve, and extend for n mite and a half from the mouth of the tunnel.